How to hold back the ocean?

Sea-level rise is not a phenomenon of increasing frequency, but rather increasing magnitude in a persistent and continuous way. The effect of climate change is most palpably felt in small, low-lying island states such as Panza Island, the southernmost island off Pemba in Tanzania. Farming and fishing are the main means of livelihood. Significant parts of the island, especially the lower elevation southeastern side, are inundated by seawater bimonthly, during the spring cycles and most prominently during the diurnal flood tides. The local residents report up to four feet of water in some areas, which have only become vulnerable in the past year. Previously agricultural land can no longer be farmed. The area near the local school has been flooding for the past 15 years. Salt water has intruded into all the wells on the island, so drinking water has to now be piped in from a neighboring island.

For this community, and other communities in similar predicaments, the only option seems to be to leave their homes and reestablish elsewhere. A plan has to be considered at the national level to account for these permanent migrations, which will affect not only those on the island, but also the people in the areas they settle in. The ripple effect continues, but now with larger waves and stronger surges…